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Monday, 18 August 2014

A Sign

Therefore the Lord himself will
give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will
call him Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14

When I first read this chapter I
thought the message in it was about the meaning of the name Immanuel which is ‘God
is with us’. But as I reflected on it a little more, my attention was drawn
more to the sign – A virgin will conceive and give birth to a son. What’s
interesting about this sign is that God decided to use something impossible to
prove himself to his people so they could be absolutely sure that it was God
and could put their trust in him.

All through the bible men have
asked God for a sign and he has been gracious enough to accept man’s doubt and
reassure him with something that couldn’t be doubted. In the days of Elijah it
was fire coming down from heaven to consume the offering made to Baal. In the
time of Jesus, it was many things including feeding five thousand with a little
boy’s snack.

God realizes that as humans we make
decisions based on what we can see, feel and touch, things we can verify with
our five senses. Sometimes he gives us a little more reason to believe him with
a sign – like a virgin giving birth to a ‘lil boy. However God wants us to
trust him without a sign, to believe his words even when we don’t have any
reassurances that we can physically relate to.

Remember Thomas when he doubted
that Jesus had risen after he had been crucified? Thomas said, “I’ll only
believe when I put my hands in the holes made by the nails”. And when he saw Jesus,
Jesus showed him the holes in his hands so he could help his faith. At that
point Thomas said he did believe it was Jesus. Then
Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have
believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
John 20:29.

God wants us to
live above the signs and have faith in him and his word, whether we feel like
it or not, whether we think it’s possible or not. One of the few things that move
God to act in an impossible situation is faith – that’s when you believe God in
spite of the reality. So how much of faith are you exercising today or are you
still waiting for a sign from God?

“And without faith it is
impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he
exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Hebrews 11:6

2 comments
:

i picked up a job as research analyst in a private firm 4 months ago.i remember God said to me that this land is a good land, a land flowing with milk and honey. he told me alot and i put it all down. today i didnt go to work,because i was thinking of all God said and that i wasnt seeing. i was doubting all that i heard because i hadnt seen the signs. i hadnt seen the projects to work on, the inflow of cash, the travellings - well my own definitions of the good land. i have been tossing to and fro in my thoughts, when i bumped on this article. just out of curiouslity, whats the signs, is it a new book, etc.but i am glad it addressed my situation.God bless you.

Hi Ebahi thanks for your feedback. Like you I have looking for signs recently and you have pointed me back to this article to learn to believe without seeing. So thank you, let's both put our faith to work and see God move in unexpected ways. God bless

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An inspirational writer and published author of A Time to Heal, Love’s Lie and Debbie’s Diary. Her creative works are usually based on biblical principles told in a contemporary African style. Her latest book 'A Time to Heal' was nominated for the International Book Awards - Religious Fiction Category.